Leinster v Benetton Treviso: Guinness PRO12 preview

Gordon D'Arcy: Named on the bench for Friday's visit of Treviso

Leinster stalwart Gordon D’Arcy will make what is likely to be his final appearance at the RDS in the Guinness PRO12 meeting with Treviso.

Barring a play-off for Champions Cup qualification, Friday will be the last home match for the experienced centre, who made 260 appearances for the province and scored 64 tries, while Jimmy Gopperth will also bid farewell ahead of his move to Wasps.

Leinster head coach Matt O’Connor has made five changes to the team that saw their play-off hopes ended by Ulster last month, with D’Arcy dropping to the bench.

Dave Kearney has recovered from a hip injury and starts on the left wing in place of Luke Fitzgerald, who underwent shoulder surgery last weekend.

Ian Madigan partners Ben Te’o in midfield while Eoin Reddan and Gopperth are the half-back combination.

Jack McGrath replaces Cian Healy in the front row, with Jordi Murphy coming into the back row alongside Ireland team-mates Sean O’Brien and Jamie Heaslip.

Treviso have lost their last five Guinness PRO12 fixtures and conceded a try bonus point in each one, but they held Leinster to 24-24 draw when they met at Stadio Monigo in November.

Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Zane Kirchner, 13 Ben Te'o, 12 Ian Madigan, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Eoin Reddan, 1 Jack McGrath, 2 Richardt Strauss, 3 Mike Ross, 4 Devin Toner, 5 Mike McCarthy, 6 Jordi Murphy, 7 Sean O'Brien, 8 Jamie Heaslip (c).

Replacements: 16 Aaron Dundon, 17 Michael Bent, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Tom Denton, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Gordon D'Arcy, 23 Darragh Fanning.

Benetton Treviso: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Andrea Pratichetti, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Enrico Bacchin, 11 Ludovico Nitoglia, 10 Sam Christie, 9 Edoardo Gori; 1 Matteo Zanusso, 2 Davide Giazzon, 3 Rupert Harden, 4 Marco Fuser, 5 Corniel Van Zyl (c), 6 Paul Derbyshire, 7 Nicola Cattina, 8 Mat Luamanu.

Replacements: 16 Albert Anae, 17 Romulo Acosta, 18 Salesi Manu, 19 Meyer Swanepoel, 20 Francesco Minto, 21 Marco Lazzaroni, 22 Angelo Esposito, 23 James Ambrosini.